Fiona Duncan reviews the best and worst of Britain's hotels and bed and breakfasts, from boutique to budget, countryside to city centre.

Who goes?This is a place for couples rather than families.

Location

8/10

On the edge of the village of Evershot, in the heart of Thomas Hardy’s Dorset. The hotel offers comprehensive and expertly written information on the author and the surrounding places described in his books, as well as plenty of ideas for walks, trips to the beach and other outings in the area.

Style/Character

7/10

Red Carnation hotels, of which there are several in London, one on Guernsey, as well as others in South Africa and elsewhere, are owned by the South African Tollman family. Decoration and style is the personal province of Beatrice Tollman and she tends towards the feminine and the flouncy. Here at Summer Lodge there are fabric covered ceilings and padded fabric walls, pictures of dogs, plenty of cushions and so on but they add up, in general, to a feeling of spoiling indulgence and do not, mercifully, overwhelm. The drawing room, designed by Thomas Hardy himself, is admirably classic in style, now painted a pretty blue, and the bedrooms are divinely pretty and comfortable. Only the restaurant is too flowery for me.

Service

9/10

Red Carnation is also noted for its exemplary, but also sometimes overwhelming service, with guest preference forms and so on. Here at Summer Lodge however, they have got it right: Charles Lotter, the general manager, ensures that everyone feels special and at home and nothing is too much trouble for the staff, but in a normal, rather than an over the top way.

Rooms

9/10

Bedrooms are feminine and very thoughtfully equipped, with fleece covered hot water bottles warming the beds on chilly evenings.

Food and drink

9/10

We found the food of Steve Titman better than ever, and if you choose to match each dish with the wine suggestions of world-class sommelier Eric Zweibel, you will find it hard to better the experience.

Value for money

9/10

Doubles from £235 per night, including breakfast. Rooms are expensive, but for the level of service and comfort and general feeling of having been thoroughly pampered, worth it.